Geese, Wildcats in LTC title rematch

Friday

Feb 1, 2013 at 10:44 PMFeb 1, 2013 at 10:47 PM

Wethersfield, Galva advance to Saturday's championship game

Mike Landis

Same teams, different year.For the second straight season, Wethersfield and Galva will square off in the championship game of the Lincoln Trail Conference boys basketball tournament.The top-seeded Geese earned their title game berth by erasing a 17-point deficit to beat Mercer County 72-69 in Friday’s first semifinal game. The Wildcats have the opportunity to defend their LTC tourney title after topping Stark County 60-45 in the second semifinal game.

Wethersfield 72,Mercer County 69Trailing 69-68, Tyler Litton drained a trey from the top of the key with 16.5 seconds remaining to put the Geese on top 71-69.Kegan Jacobson came up with a steal for the Geese on the ensuing possession, and hit 1 of 2 free throws to extend the lead to 72-69.Mercer County’s desperation three at the buzzer was off the mark, and the Geese completed an improbable comeback to earn their 20th win and advance to the title game.Litton’s three gave Wethersfield its first lead since the opening quarter.“Actually I didn’t know whether to drive or pass,” said Litton. “It felt good leaving my hand.”“We just overcame adversity,” added Litton of the rally. “We’ve done it a couple of times this year. “We’re mentally tough. That’s something we’ve lacked in the past years that we’ve got this year."“These kids, and I’ve said it all year, have no quit in them at all,” said Wethersfield coach Jeff Parsons. “Never once did I look in their eyes and think we were going to lose this game. Did I have doubts? You bet I did because Mercer County played really well.”It was all Mercer County for two-plus quarters as the Golden Eagles erupted for 28 first-quarter points and led 43-26 with just under two minutes to play in the first half.Wethersfield trimmed the deficit to 45-34 at the half, but the Eagles pushed it back to 55-39 midway through the third quarter on a three-point play by Tanner Matlick.The Geese ended the third frame with a 12-4 run to trail 59-51 going into the final eight minutes.Wethersfield kept chipping away at the lead and finally made it a one-possession game on a three-point play by Litton to make it 69-66 with 1:17 to play.After a Mercer County turnover, Trey Hannam hit two free throws to make it 69-68 with 37 seconds to play.The Golden Eagles coughed up the ball again, and Litton made them pay with his wide open dagger from the top of the key.“How clutch was Tyler Litton? He was wide open and they were doubling Trevor (Lay), and you’ve got to knock it down,” said Parsons of the big shot. “It couldn’t happen to a nicer kid. He’s got more heart than a lot of kids I’ve ever coached.”Wethersfield’s Trevor Lay led all scorers with 26 points. Also in double figures for the Geese were Litton with 13, Javonte Hollowell with 12 and Jacobson with 10.Tanner Matlick topped the Golden Eagles with 16.

Galva 60, Stark County 45The Wildcats earned their title game berth with another clutch performance in the fourth quarter.Galva outscored Stark County 19-8 in the final frame to pull away in Friday’s second semifinal contest.The Wildcats led 24-22 at the half and stretched the margin to seven early in the third frame, but Rebels rallied to pull even at 37-all.Galva took control from there, rattling off eight straight points to end the third quarter and start the fourth quarter to build its biggest lead of the night, 45-37.The free-throw line was the difference for the Wildcats, as Galva hit 16 of 20 from the line and Stark County shot a frigid 6 of 22.Dexter Ingels paced the Wildcats with 19 points, followed by David Jeffries with 12 and Reece Hoxworth with 11.Jake Berchtold led the Rebels with 15 points, followed by Tanner King with 14.

Consolation semifinalsROWVA and Ridgewood advanced to tonight’s consolation title game with wins Friday night.ROWVA slipped past West Central 46-42 and Ridgewood defeated Annawan 51-44.ROWVA earned its victory by outscoring West Central 19-11 in the fourth quarter. Kyle Woodside had a big night for the Tigers, finishing with 25 points, including 23 in the second half. He also drained 8 of 8 free throws in the fourth quarter.Colin Rothzen and Justin Alberts scored 11 each for the Heat.Ridgewood held Annawan to just six points in the opening half, then survived a 24-6 flurry by the Braves in the fourth quarter to get the win.James Brooks paced the Spartans with 16 points. He had five treys on the night, including four in the second quarter as Ridgewood roared to a 32-6 lead at the half. Elisha McCreary added 12 points for the Spartans.Tony Gripp paced Annawan with 17 points, followed by Michael Smith with 10.

Tonight’s LTC tourney scheduleThe basketball starts at 4 p.m. at Mercer County High School in Aledo with Ridgewood vs. ROWVA in the consolation title game, followed by Stark County vs. Mercer County in the third-place game at 5:30 p.m. and Wethersfield vs. Galva for the title at 7 p.m.